The 6th Bomb Group

This was a daylight precision raid on Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. The strike photos showed that the Sixth had achieved a high level of proficiency:

On 7 August the Group changed to a daylight precision attack on the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal, thirty-seven miles from Nagoya. Only twelve Sixth ships were scheduled and all bombed the primary target. No post-strike photography was made for damage assessment but strike photos indicated 90 per cent of the Sixth's bombs fell within 1000 feet of the main point of impact.

[Pirate's Log, p. 53]

20th AF Mission 317

Date: 7 August 1945
Target: Toyokawa Naval Arsenal ( 90.21 - 1653 )
Participating Units: 58th, 73rd, 313th, and 314th BW's
Number A/C Airborne: 131
% A/C Bombing Primary: 94.65% ( 124 A/C )
Type of Bombs and Fuzes: M64, 500# G.P. bombs with 1/100 sec. delay nose and non-delay tail.
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 813.3 tons on Primary and 3.5 tons on Opportunity.
Time Over Primary: 071113K - 071139K
Altitude of Attack: 16,000 - 23,600
Weather Over Target: 0/10 - 4/10
Total A/C Lost: 1
Resume of Mission: Crews reported good to excellent results. Thirteen planes sighted visually and 111 by radar. Seven A/C were non-effective. One A/C bombed both the primary and target of opportunity. Two E/A sighted did not attack. Flak was generally meager. Fighter escort was present over the target. Flak damaged 21 A/C. The A/C lost was due to flak damage which forced the crew to bail out over Iwo Jima. All men were rescued. Two Wind-Run A/C were not included in the A/C A/B. Seven B-29s landed at Iwo Jima. Average bomb load: 14,518 lbs. Average fuel reserve: 894 gallons.